Work connectivity behavior after-hours and occupational fatigue in OR nurse-parents: a latent profile analysis and the mediating role of psychological detachment

Background: In China, work connectivity behavior after-hours (WCBA) among operating room nurse who are parents (OR nurse-parents) are associated with increased occupational fatigue, whereas psychological detachment may serve as a potential protective factor. A thorough understanding of the relationship among the three factors is conducive to the management of occupational fatigue. Aim: Explore the relationship between OR nurse-parents' WCBA and occupational fatigue through Latent Profile Analysis (LPA), and analyze the mediating effect of psychological detachment. Methods: This study constituted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from a prior study involving OR nurse-parents in 15 tertiary hospitals in Shandong Province, China. Inclusion criteria were: (1) registered nurse with >1 year of OR experience; (2) parent of at least one child aged 0-18 years; (3) voluntary informed consent. Exclusion criteria were: (1) temporary staff or interns; (2) on extended leave during the study; (3) major comorbidities. A two-part analytical strategy was used. First, latent profile analysis identified subgroups by WCBA, psychological detachment, and occupational fatigue, with multinomial logistic regression then examining predictors of profile membership. Second, a parallel mediation analysis tested psychological detachment as a mediator between WCBA and occupational fatigue. Results: Data came from the 724 included OR nurse-parents. LPA revealed a three-profile model: "low WCBA-high psychological detachment-low occupational fatigue group (22%)," "moderate WCBA-moderate psychological detachment-moderate occupational fatigue group (50%)," and "high WCBA-low psychological detachment-high occupational fatigue group (28%)." Multivariate analysis identified working over 10 h daily as a risk factor for the high-risk group. Furthermore, Psychological detachment partially mediated the WCBA- occupational fatigue relationship across all occupational fatigue dimensions, accounting for 17.73%-31.52% of total effects. Conclusions: Mediation analysis confirmed that psychological detachment partially mediates the relationship between WCBA and occupational fatigue. LPA of WCBA, psychological detachment, and occupational fatigue revealed a three-profile solution among operating room nurse-parents in Shandong Province. A critical finding of LPA is that WCBA moderates the relationship between occupational fatigue and psychological detachment, creating a dual effect: while psychological detachment generally reduces occupational fatigue, its benefit diminishes or reverses under moderate WCBA, likely due to unclear communication expectations. Therefore, effective interventions must address both aspects: managing after-hours connectivity to reduce its intrusion and proactively promoting genuine psychological detachment to mitigate fatigue.